Sometimes, things just seem to fall into place. When it happens over and over, you get the five-piece band, Katatonik. Matt Battise, Corey Henderson, Kevin O’Reilly, Davis Letchworth and Erik Cougle are Katatonk. A chance meeting at open mic night at O’Donnell’s Pub in Southern Pines started it all. “Let’s start a band,” O’Reilly said to Cougle one evening. “I don’t have drums,” he replied. Cougle says O’Reilly assured him that he had drums. So, they began to recruit others.

As many musicians do, the two played multiple instruments, but they knew where to start. Cougle began playing drums at 10, so he would be on the kit. O’Reilly would play guitar. They knew Henderson to be a consummate guitarist, so they asked him to join as lead guitar. Cougle recruited Letchworth to play bass for the group. To make sure they all fit, a few weeks later they gathered for a jam. They met at O’Reilly’s place, and while Cougle waited for O’Reilly to direct him to the drum kit, they both looked at each other expectantly. “Where are the drums?” “I don’t have drums.” It was then that looked like things would fall apart, but another piece fell into place. Henderson just happened to have a kit, so they went down the road. The foursome meshed. They played well together, but they still needed one thing.

It happened to be another open mic night. As a local vocalist, Battise was known for his intensity behind the mic. That night, he stepped up on stage and switched it up a bit. Cougle was struck with his range and invited him to join at a practice session to see if this other side of Battise would fit the forming band. The puzzle was complete, and it came together to form Katatonik.

They’ve been playing together since December, and you can find them regularly at Neville’s. They felt “there are a lot of songs that people would love to hear,” but nobody was playing them. The scene didn’t have the music they loved growing up in the 90s and early 2000s, so Katatonik fills that void. But they play a little bit of everything, when it comes down to it, they want to play “fun guitar-driven music,” says Letchworth. Katch a taste tonight at O’Donnell’s, for their first appearance at the place that started it all.